NEW YORK – The Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins will face off in Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final Wednesday at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, the pinnacle of a series and post-season typified by intense competition, unpredictability, late-game heroics and wild momentum shifts.
Wednesday’s showdown will mark the seventh Game 7 of the 2011 post-season, matching the total from 1994 as the most in playoff history. The home team has prevailed in five of the six previous games and five of the six were decided by one goal.
Regardless of the outcome, History Will Be Made for one club and its passionate following. The Canucks, celebrating their 40th anniversary in the NHL, are in quest of their first Stanley Cup. The Bruins are vying for their first championship in 39 years.
The Bruins will tie a playoff record by playing their third Game 7 of this post-season, having eliminated the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning on home ice in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals and Final, respectively, and have a chance to become the first club in League history to win three Game 7s in one year. The 1993 Toronto Maple Leafs and 2002 Colorado Avalanche, the only previous clubs to appear in three, won their first two appearances and were eliminated in Game 7 of the Conference Finals.
The Canucks will be making their second Game 7 appearance in 2011, having dethroned the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks with a 2-1 overtime victory in the Western Conference Quarterfinals on a goal by Alex Burrows at 5:22.
The Canucks and Bruins will contest the 16th Game 7 in a Stanley Cup Final. The home team has posted a 12-3 record in the 15 previous games. The Canucks have made one appearance, dropping a 3-2 decision to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in 1994. The Bruins have never contested a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Final.
Four Boston players have appeared in at least seven career Game 7s, led by 43-year-old right wing Mark Recchi, who is set to participate in his 11th career game — the most among active NHL players. Recchi’s appearance Wednesday will make him one of nine players with at least 11 career Game 7s, joining Patrick Roy and Scott Stevens (13); Glenn Anderson, Ken Daneyko and Stephane Yelle (12); and Dave Andreychuk, Doug Gilmour and Al MacInnis (11).
Forwards Daniel and Henrik Sedin have played in a team-leading five Game 7s for the Canucks.
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